Closing In
by shadowcat238
Summary: An interpretation of Katniss and Peeta's lives after the Rebellion, in which Happily Ever After comes with a hefty price and is not necessarily what they had been conditioned to idolize.
1. Chapter 1

Hello!

I recently began to get back into writing, and this is basically the culmination of my imagination while I was sick one week and unable to do much else other than lay around and sleep. Anyways, I hope that you enjoy reading this, and I would immensely appreciate feedback on it; especially the writing style. I'm currently experimenting with writing, and would love to know which kinds of writing "works".

Disclaimer: I own nothing, this was written for pleasure only.

* * *

Headcanons

Katniss and Peeta both work actively in helping rebuild Panem immediately after the games, but in their own different ways.

A new "district twelve" is drawn out, along the boundaries of the old district, and recovery is in progress

* * *

**Closing In**

* * *

The state rests on her shoulders. She is not a peacekeeper, but a peacemaker. A healer, like Prim wanted to be. A guide, like she always wanted to be.

Katniss, elected unanimously by the rebellion leaders to be their guiding light, oversees all of the new states' reconstruction. With their new organization situated in the borders between district ten, eleven and twelve, the new council works ceaselessly alongside their new president to reconstruct, and she is determined to make things right: make it so that no one will ever again lose sleep over hunger and despair, so that reaping is done only on crops, so that death will only come when people are ready.

From before the first bird sings in response to seeing the sun to well after the stars have begun scintillating across the sky, she is meeting and collecting and rebuilding. She surrounds herself with others who are as adept and as driven to rebuild, and they work ceaselessly. No brick, no beam, no tile is placed without them; they are everything from the diggers to the administrators. Katniss revels in the labor and thrives in the reconstruction as the old regime is eradicated from all visibility except for history books.

Inevitably, there is debate among the administration members as to what to do with the losers, the capitols. Equally inevitably, some want nothing more than to tear each capitol from their designer homes with only the clothes on their backs and force them to march throughout Panem. The capitols who resisted would be killed on the spot. Those who tried to escape would be hunted and, if caught, be brought back to witness the execution of his or her family. When the herd arrives at each districts, a designated few would be brought to the arena - almost bringing back the memories of reaping to the witnesses - and have their blood re-christen the platform, as retribution for the horrendous abuse and repression that the people from "the pinnacle of civilization" had forced onto their districts.

The few, Katniss included, disagree; arguing vehemently that no new blood should spill. It is what Coin wanted, what Snow had anticipated, not what they want. The people of the capitol had suffered loss as well, and it is time to lead by example by adopting a policy of mercy instead of vengeance.

Her father had always expressed his disgust at the capitol by quoting one of the wisest men he had learned about: "the angry can be made happy again, but the dead can never come back." This quote germinates within her mind the resolve to not let the new government take lives, and to preserve the legacy of those who were unrightfully torn from their existence.

The tenacity of her minority prevail, and the ideas of death marches and execution spectacles are mollified, if not dropped.

But, she does not allow the capitol citizen to continue on, ignorant of life in the districts under the former regime. Katniss believes strongly in 'shock' treatment rather than punishment for the capitol citizens: thus, her council sees to it that every citizen from the capitol is taken out of their finery, packed tightly onto the most basic of train cars, and taken on a year-long tour of the districts. In each district, survivors of the regime had the capitol citizens to toil as the slave-like workers of each district had in order to provide the capitol with their decadent lifestyle.

It surprises everyone that even the wealthiest districts had worked citizens under slave-like conditions; district one's diamond mines incorporated child labor from the lowest rungs of the social ladder in its microcosm, district two used psychological torture in order to kill the human and create the peacekeeper—something that not even its own citizens had known before the rebellion had broken down its walls and exposed its unctuous underside, district three forced low-level factory workers to hunch over their work under insufficient lighting until they were nearly blind and hunchbacked to assemble the electronics, and on and on for each district. The situations in the richer districts are relatively better than those in the poorest districts, but it is no less appalling to see such exploitation by humans of other humans.

Accidents among the previously pampered capitol citizens are common, and reports of abuse by the district citizens constantly pour into Katniss's message box. The death count among the capitol citizens begins to rise: heat exhaustion in district eleven, miners' lung in district twelve (they could have put the capitol education into pharmaceuticals and medicine produced by the new district twelve, but the stringent minority who had formerly advocated the death marches wanted authenticity on life under the _totalitarian_ regime), crushed to death in district two, accidental electrocution in district three, drowning in district four…

It wasn't her intention for all of that to happen, but her ideas did seem very quixotic in the first place; she did not feel any need for retribution against the capitol citizens, but that does not under any circumstance mean that nobody else did. The former pro-punishment faction of the council had their eyes light up with glee upon hearing about how their people had stood up after centuries of humiliation, and all of Katniss's attempts to alleviate the capitol citizens' suffering is completely denied, even by President Paylor.

"This happens," she had said, "and right now, it is better to let them run their course; don't try to stop a charging train with words."

There are, by contrast, moments of tenderness among the retribution; friendships formed between district and capitol citizens, realizations about the basic humanity that they all share, even a few romances had been reported. This gives her hope, and Katniss saves each report by copying the report in a small journal she keeps in the upper left drawer of her desk.

Along the way, many of the capitol citizens break down; sometimes from the work, sometimes from the guilt, sometimes from adamantly denying that they contributed to such abuses.

When the train rolls back into the station, the emaciated survivors stumble off of the platform, broken and ready for reformation. Katniss addresses them gently; taking each one's bony and calloused hand and asking them what they learned and if they are ready to embrace the new regime. They nod, some eagerly and others reluctantly.

She allows each capitol citizen to keep all memorabilia concerning friends and families and one material treasure, and the rest of their wealth is distributed among the districts to fund their reconstruction and research projects.

* * *

Peeta, by contrast, chooses to return to his trade, whose family-owned bakery has become a chain of specialty bread and pastry shops across Panem and is known for its quality products as well as for its generosity to its communities. Reconstruction cannot continue if people do not eat, and he makes sure that every man, woman, and child who enter his shops are firm from his bread. He works from before dawn to after dusk as well, mixing and baking just as his family had taught him.

His family watches happily as their youngest son thrives while adhering to a family tradition that had been passed down for generations. They are especially happy that he has gotten his 'happy ending' that the others did not. Sometimes they help him, but Peeta usually shoo's them away because he feels that it is his time to give back to the people who gave him so much by freeing up their time and providing them with all the bread they could want.

Politics - lying through one's teeth, as he once proclaimed it to be - had never been a great interest to him, and he felt that the new government already had enough adept leaders to successfully reshape Panem, so Peeta abstained from entering a career in politics. Sometimes, he gives his opinions on possible new laws and the actions of the new adminstration, but only when others ask for his opinion. He is happier this way anyways; cocooning himself next to the warm oven fire, within the scent of baking that permeates the air into his shop, like a faithful guard cleaving to a post.

Also, he immensely enjoys seeing before his own eyes the immediate results of his efforts. He no longer needs to suppress the impulses of giving generously to those who gaze at his displays of breads and pastries as their eyes and mouths water uncontrollably; his mother is no longer behind the door, armed with a pan to chase them away. A few days after he gives them the food, he finds the same people entering his shop with their families and buying his products and trying to overpay him either in currency or in goods and services. They finally have enough energy to work, and district twelve now has no shortage of a labor demand in order to modernize its infrastructure and develop its new economy before the new president arrives as part of her tour.

Working in such a manner allows him to develop deep and personal relationships with his new friends. Over the years, he begins to play a dual role in their lives: one is the friend who will laugh with them, cry with them, and joke with them, and the other is the benevolent guardian who watches over them, helping them up when they fall. To Peeta, it feels so natural to play the latter role, especially as he watches others' faces light up at "Peeta the provider" arriving with steaming baskets in hand.

The technological and scientific progress of the capitol and the resources of all of the districts formed a perfect symbiotic bond and had made crops more abundant and healthier than ever. Hunger does not need to exist anymore, and nothing gives him more joy than seeing the people whom he meets and loves grow fat and then strong with the bread he provides. He especially takes delight in softly pinching children's cheeks and lifting them up to feel the result of his contributions.

* * *

Due to Katniss's work, she is not often at home. They have an understanding, and it is not a problem with them. They bond through talking with one another about the good that they saw in the world, from Peeta's smiling children to Katniss's successes in policymaking. Sharing their stories strengthens their bond, and they are happy.

This night, Katniss is finishing a rough draft of her new proposal that is to help give district six comprehensive rehabilitation facilities with medicine developed in district twelve. Peeta finishes his shower and flops onto the bed, jostling some of Katniss's papers. She pretends to be mad, and he says that he is sorry with exaggerated gestures. She finishes the proposal and snuggles up next to him. He turns off the light, and they lay in the darkness as they do often during their nights together.

"How was your day?" Even when she is on the verge of falling asleep, Katniss asks him this in order to know more about his life. As usual, he responds with enthusiasm about the amount he has baked, the customers he saw, and the deliveries he had made. Peeta shifts slightly so that they are looking into each other's eyes.

"I delivered to a school full of children today." Katniss smiles up at him.

"They're…they're so happy." His eyes shine at the memory. He brushes his hand over her bare shoulder and leaves it there.

"For you, of course they would be." Katniss says uneasily. The air always changed with his touch…

"I think…our children would be happier." Katniss felt the strings tug at her heart; he has brought _it_ up again.

They had been together since after the games had ended, and married shortly afterwards; they had discovered that despite the progress of the rebellion and its aftershocks over the people's heads, many still expected the two to get married. They were married in a quiet but public ceremony; they were in love, after all. No big deal, Katniss had thought.

"Peeta…" She thought that she had made it clear to him years ago: she cleaves to her aversion to having children, and now more than ever, because she needs to construct a better world for the living children first. It doesn't seem right to her at this time.

For the night, Katniss manages to convince Peeta that his desire was just that—an ephemeral sentiment. It would soon pass, when they found happiness in other ways.


	2. Chapter 2

**Closing In**

* * *

But that sentiment does not pass: it remains, and slowly it consumes Peeta. At times, Katniss wonders if he has been brainwashed again, this time by his neighbors rather than by the Capitol.

Everyone around them is having children. In addition to having children, everyone is naming them after the happily-ever-after lovers. Perhaps the worst is that everyone asks them to attend baby showers, post-birth visits, and soon, first (and then second, and then third and then fourth…) birthdays.

The women also insist on inviting Peeta in addition to Katniss to these visits, despite protests that his presence may ruin the feminine bonding that such gatherings often hold.

Enthusiastically, he holds his hands over the woman's generously swollen stomach and feels the life kicking inside of her or he lifts up a child who smiles radiantly and squeals in his hands. He participates with alacrity in the lessons in diaper-changing, proper holding, and burping.

He admires the scattering of soft, fine hair on the heads and eyebrows of the little ones. He traces his hands over their cute little arms, their stubby and adorable legs, their impossibly large eyelids. They have the most delicate fingernails too, which he often compares to freshly-husked kernels of wheat.

It becomes a gibe among the women that having children will always bring more of Peeta's bread to their household. He looks for a reason to go to their houses and speak with them about their children. He holds them every time a woman offers, and the children cuddle closer to his familiar scent of yeast and flour. He loses count of the number of times husbands almost punch him in the face for staring as their wives breast-fed.

As he speaks with the families, he amasses their knowledge like cloth amasses water. Soon, people go to him for advice on children and on families because he holds the collective knowledge of the neighborhood and beyond. After he imparts his wisdom onto them, they pat his shoulders or take his hand in thanks, look at him admiringly, and tell him that he will make a wonderful father.

* * *

All the while, the women have their eyes on her. Why isn't her belly swelling? Why isn't she more often at home? Why doesn't she make more of an _effort_?

Katniss forces herself to keep quiet. It seemed almost unnatural for her to not want to have children, but she cannot change that thought.

The couple talks about children and having children more and more often as a result, and often ends with Katniss feeling like a pariah in the baby-crazed zeitgeist and Peeta gazing at his wife with sad, translucent eyes.

However, she stands by her decision; she can't have children…perhaps, not yet.

She manages to stave him off for another ten years, citing their work schedules and the needs of others. Also, she constant travel needs would only complicate things. "It wouldn't be practical or beneficial for either of us" she proclaims, "and we need to wait."

The more she talks about it, the less absolute she feels. This, Katniss freely admits to Peeta, finding that it is natural for her to stop thinking in absolute terms: the totalitarian regime had constantly proclaimed its immortality, and now it is little more than a dark ink-drop stain on the page of the world's history book. In retrospect, Peeta takes that as a sign that he will be able to convince her if he talks about it enough with her.

* * *

In the interim, Peeta plays the father; he "adopts" children that he sees regularly, gets to know them on a level rivaling that of their biological fathers, and becomes a valued playmate and fatherly figure to many of them.

However, that image in his play-world always shatters when the children's eyes flash with delight upon catching sight of someone approaching the shop, their legs automatically propel them away from Peeta and towards the road, their voices squealing "daddy!" in delight.

As the fathers sweep up the children, kissing them as the children laugh, Peeta walks stiffly into his shop to work with the dough he would need for tomorrow; as the fathers pass with their children in their arms, they hear especially loud slamming of rolling pins onto boards.

* * *

The day comes when Katniss no longer needs to travel frequently, when forces herself to let go of some of her responsibilities and to let others have control – if she did not, she would be no better than the totalitarians that she had despised and overthrown.

Life in her office becomes quiet, and she neither needs to stay as late nor come as early as she did before. The new president personally commends Katniss for all of her accomplishments and suggests that she take a well-deserved vacation. She wants to protest, but catches herself; why is she protesting at her superior's insistence that she takes time off? And then she accepts.

At home, the doldrums set in as Katniss finds that she cannot do much: her entire skill set revolved around hunting, combat, and reconstruction, none of which she needed at the time. Hobbies were foreign and convoluted to her, particularly because she cannot stand to keep still enough to craft and considers recreational art to be unproductive.

She talks with Peeta about it, and they decide to try something else: she comes and helps him at the bakery. He had wanted to bring her into this part of his world for the longest time, thinking how lovely they would look baking as a couple; he mixes the best ingredients and leaves it all to rise, she kneads and shapes the little masses of dough with her skilled hands, he pops the little ones into the oven, she waits and watches eagerly as he pulls out the golden, soft, and perfect results...

But, Katniss had never learned the delicate science of baking. The precision involved—careful weighing of each ingredient, constantly checking liquids to ensure that they are just the right temperature, specific means and order of folding additives such as fruit and nuts into bread—is lost to her, and her attempts must more often be sold as discount than as the quality products on which the Mellark family had built its name.

His mother snaps at Katniss often and exasperatedly when she sees Katniss doing something wrong, his father's eyes hold a perpetual glaze of disappointment when he sees her trying, he offers neither criticism nor support.

After two weeks of stagnant progress, Katniss kindly thanks her in-laws for giving her a chance to help them, but says that it would be better to leave this profession to those who are most adept at it.

* * *

"It is…very quiet around here." It makes Katniss feel guilty, thinking that this is what Peeta had to endure every night that she was gone.

She also wants something to do, something to occupy herself with, during the hours that Peeta is working.

Her friends at the bureau and in Panem were all busy, and their correspondences were few and far between: after all, they had their own families to take care of as well. They almost disappeared once they married and began having children; no more spontaneous meals together, no more talks about the pressing issues of Panem, no more visits that resulted in long pauses in which they would all bask in the serene silence.

The more the silence permeates her mind, the more having a child seems reasonable; she now has time to take care of one, the circumstances in which they would raise the child were much better than over a decade ago, and…there would be a lot of happiness.

It seems to Katniss that she had missed out on something that always brought people closer together: when she constantly goes to baby showers, she could feel the joy and the maternal bond radiating from the mothers, and she constantly felt that force field rebuffing her thin, childless pride.

"It is." Peeta agreed. They shifted in their bed again, Katniss pulled herself to meet his eyes.

"Maybe…Maybe we can fill it with some noise…better noise. Laughter…of children." She feels Peeta's breath hitches, almost daring to believe his ears.

"Do you mean it?" he whispers.

The younger side of her resurfaces, stopping the words in her throat, trying to argue with her present self. Katniss closes her eyes, telling off her younger self and trying to influence the decision that she has now made.

Peeta, feeling her hesitation, lays a hand on his cheek and gazes through the turbulence beneath her eyes. "Katniss…I promise you…it will work. We will all be happy."

To Katniss, marriage was all about happiness. Her mother and father had been happy, despite their situation, despite their burdens. One was happy when the other was happy; this, Katniss aspired the most to emulate. Peeta would be happy to have a child—ineffably happy.

And so, Katniss quickly concludes, she will be as well.

"Yes."


	3. Chapter 3

**Closing In**

* * *

The sunlight leaks through the curtains, but they had already been up long before the first rays touched their skin.

They pay no attention to anything but each other; their breaths are short and ardent, their open eyes drink in the sight, their limbs writhe and tangle through their soft sheets.

Always, they finish with a tender kiss and lay there for a few more blissful minutes before beginning their morning routine of washing and dressing and leaving.

* * *

It starts out fun, with both of them challenging each other to find new places, times, and situations. Everywhere in the house, after (or even before) hours in his bakery, in her office…

It is the honeymoon they had never had. When they married, they were still very young and neither had much of an idea of what to expect or do. After a few hours of Peeta talking with his father and brothers and Katniss talking with Effie—of all people, Effie, and she surprisingly had a lot of good information and advice—the two were whisked off to their pseudo-house for their honeymoon. They had a week to themselves...

But that was far too little of a time for them to comfortably progress from genuine kissing while lying down or simple and clothed exploration, especially after _that _time.

And then, their lives picked up; the bakery was Peeta's, a wedding gift from his family, and Katniss had her work.

Now, though, is the time to make up for it; they have that right balance of virility and experience, they know each other so very well, and they now have a new common goal. The symbiotic relationship has never been better, and both relax and let the giddy laughter and excitement course through their bodies.

But when the blood comes, Katniss watches as Peeta's giddy blue eyes glaze over and turn grey. Katniss herself feels ambivalent about seeing the spots on her underwear, but always feels dread at telling him.

They were not discouraged the first times; they believe that, since it didn't work out this time, there is an even greater chance for it to happen the next time. The image of holding their angel in their arms overfills them with hope, and so they push on.

* * *

At his request, she begins to chart her cycle. It is still a little irregular, but does not fluctuate as dramatically as it used to when she was uncertain about when her next meal would come.

As soon as she begins writing down her fertile days, every part of their lives becomes consumed by the cycle.

On days leading up to the precious window of time, they are openly amorous and enjoy each other's company. They are spontaneous; going for a walk and kissing in the middle of the deserted path, darting around the hallway in a frenzy to find a place to be alone, slowly swaying in each other's arms as soft music floats around their ears and the candlelight flickers across their bodies.

The bubble of pleasure building inside them bursts, and it slowly diffuses across their bodies and settles in their limbs, making them heavy and languid with delight. Most nights, they don't even make it up the stairs.

As soon as she begins to bleed, they freeze their passion.

Their rapport becomes more strained, and they cannot bear to look into each other's sad eyes. There is no rushing home early anymore, no laughter resonating off of the walls, and the house is silent and dark before the sun sets. They separate, barely speaking to one another because they don't know what to say outside of chitchat. At some point, they stop looking at each other while having their dinner.

They tangle themselves into a web of hope and love and expectation and failure, cutting off sensation. They stop seeing each other, closing their eyes and visualizing their motivation as they fall back onto the nearest surface. Their communication dwindles to soft moans emanated during their act.

Every time as he moves above her, she can't help but think of an automaton: he follows his rhythm ceaselessly, like the pendulum on a clock. Everything seems to be falling into place, including them.

They become so drawn into this drama that their roles are ingrained into their heads; he is the male, she is the female, he is the seed, she is the bearer, he moves and gives, she lays and receives. After he finishes, he either rolls next to her or rests on top of her, and something about the air sends chills throughout her body.

* * *

He becomes more capricious with every cycle, and Katniss feels the tumultuous disruptions.

He begins to read books on conception, and shares with her what he learned from them: she should not be on top because there's greater chance that his seed will fall out after she climbs back down. She should lie still for at least thirty minutes—an hour, maybe even go to sleep staying perfectly still—after they finish. He should eat oysters for dinner to accrue his sexual potency.

As time goes on, the suggestions—taken from little more than superstition of others—become completely outlandish; they may as well try black magic to work miracles.

They don't trust capitol technology, least of all near the parts necessary to create and hold their future. They refuse to undergo testing; it's impossible that they can't have for what they had wished so hard. They will keep at it. And then the day will come, and they will be overjoyed.

* * *

Failure, as they come to see it, eventually begins to wear them raw. The first thing they do is begin to question each other.

_Do you really want a baby? I mean, it's fine if you don't, but please tell me—_

_Of course I want one; just as much as you! I've thought about having one for so long…_

_I don't doubt it—I swear! It's just… _(Awkward, nebulous gesticulation has replaced words by now)

_Let's talk about our children. How they'll look, what they'll do, our plans to decorate their rooms…_

_Well, I guess—I mean, that would be-_

_Please. Their names; what will their names?_

_We'll name them…_

* * *

After another disappointment, Katniss sits down with Peeta to talk about adopting.

Initially, they both say that they are open to the idea; that adoption could work. After all, Katniss had personally put in the new adoption and foster care system and had met many wonderful children that the couple could potentially adopt.

But, as information about the potentially adoptable children begins pouring in, the less encouraged they both become. Peeta is disappointed that no child is less than nine years old: he wants to be there for the child from the moment the child is born or, if that is not possible, when the child is six months old at most.

When Katniss asks why, he replies because that is when children begin to truly see and learn from their caretakers.

He wants to be sure that his children have the best impression of caretakers and they can establish a trusting and loving relationship quickly and seamlessly. He also wants to see them grow, and children grow the most quickly during the first five years of their lives. Also, he knows the most about children who are under the age of ten, and he would rather try and start raising a child while he is in his comfort zone.

Katniss understands, although a part of her cannot help but think that such a relationship can establish itself between two people, regardless of age.

But right at that time their respective workloads unexpectedly become heavier, and they must put talks of adoption on hold in order to take care of their duties on time.

As they are working to provide relief for the natural disaster that hit district six particularly hard and to incorporate the new set of enriched grains developed in district eleven into bread for optimal nutrition and quality, the children in the adoption system are adopted or grow too old for legal adoption.

Policy dictates that children in the system are educated the same as children from other families up until they finish secondary school but will be held responsible for funding their own education after that point. It is an imperfect system, Katniss admits, but they do not yet have a comprehensive solution and they are at least providing the children with the skills and education they will need for their future.

* * *

When the two of them think that they have found the right one, just as they are about to visit her, their case is dropped.

Katniss receives the message at her office the next day; the author and person with whom Katniss had become very well-acquainted, evidently disappointed in the abrupt change, coldly asks her to give them prior notice before the contract has been drawn up because each one requires weeks' worth of work. She writes back, saying that she doesn't understand what was happening, and the warmer yet still curt reply states that Peeta had sent in a request of cancellation yesterday.

When she returns home that night and sees Peeta preparing dinner and whistling as if nothing had happened, she has never wanted more to smack that bowl out of his hands. Just to see something break. When he sees her coming towards him, his smile fades when he sees the fury emanating from her flaming red body.

"What have you done?"

Initially, their voices are hushed; both of them barely holding on to their sanity and civility, but they stop listening again, and the cacophony begins.

Their voices boom, almost shaking the windows of their house; their eyes flash uncontrollably in anger; and drops of water begin splashing on the floor as the maelstrom progresses.

The termination of the application surprisingly does not hurt Katniss as much as the fact that Peeta had made that decision without first talking with her about it. Katniss had looked forward to meeting Marigold very much, especially since the agency had given Marigold's description to be almost exactly identical to that of Rue's. Perhaps it was partially out of her guilt that she chose Marigold, who would be twelve by the time they adopted her. Come to think of it, Peeta had always seemed less than thrilled at the possibility of adopting Marigold; although she was the youngest one they could find, he had always tactfully mentioned his concerns about her age and possible past experience with caretakers.

_What is wrong with you? She was raised by someone, and that does not mean that they were abusive or negligent or—!_

_It's not that, it's really—_

_You say that you want children, and yet you always stall when we're about to adopt! We've talked about this; you said you were fine with it!_

_Listen to me!_

_So why did you pull out our application?_

He and his parents had spoken about adoption and, he claims, his parents are adamantly against it; especially, they allegedly say, since both he and Katniss are healthy. Of course nothing can be wrong with their youngest son; his elder brothers have children already, and his father himself had come from a family of twelve children. Katniss's parents had two children, and they are _sure_ that if her father had not died in that _unfortunate_ accident that her parents would have had more.

* * *

How is one supposed to feel about this? More importantly, what does one do after this? Try harder?

They go to bed angry for many nights following their confrontation. Any attempt to reconcile is interpreted as only a means to get back to procreating, which they both vehemently avoid.

In the daylight, they tiptoe around each other; whoever got up later would wait for at least fifteen minutes to use the bathroom, which consequently resulted in both Katniss and Peeta's trying to get up earlier and earlier just to one-up the other in their little competition. When the later partner comes into the breakfast room, the bread and spreads are already on the table, as well as their morning beverage-just as they like it-is steaming from the cup on the table. One-word, contrived goodbyes follow the silent breakfast, and they try and work as much extra time as they can before biting the bullet and going home. The person who arrives home first cooks dinner, and this time there is no playful banter echoing through the kitchen and dining room while chopping the spinach or remarks of how heavenly the room smells as the scent of stew and hot buttered bread permeates the air. After a silent dinner, with the occasional remark about how good the food tastes peppered in, the partner clears the table and cleans up while the cook gets ready for bed. They are in bed at separate times, sleeping in separate rooms right now; their pride and hurt do not allow them to throw themselves into their partner's arms and make up.

And yet, they miss each other. They miss the predictability and security that their routine had given them; they miss the good times they had; they miss seeing each other regularly. It wasn't completely perfect, but it felt better than sitting around alone. Trying to reconcile while saving face is not easy, and both do not feel comfortable rebuilding their line of communication as the silence continues to abuse and deafen their ears.

On a quiet night, the two of them meet at the base of the staircase; they wordlessly kiss, knowing why they are there, sharing a soft and nice sensation.

Their hands slide lightly across each other, just in the way that each knew their partner likes. Katniss quietly sits on the second step and leans back, bracing herself. Peeta kneels down, continuously running his hands over her body gingerly, preparing her.

"Peeta"

"Katniss"

Softly and slowly, they move as they rediscover touch, pleasure, tenderness, and feeling; communication with their bodies is much easier than talking anyways. They finish quietly, and go back up the stairs to sleep in their bed.

Once again, the snake has bitten its tail.


End file.
